Land area

1,219,090 sq km (Eastern Cape: 169,580; Free State: 129,480; Gauteng: 17,010; KwaZulu-Natal: 92,100; Limpopo: 123,910; Mpumalanga: 79,490; Northern Cape: 361,830; North West: 116,320; and Western Cape: 129,370)

Population

48.7m (2008 estimate, Statistics South Africa)

Main towns

Population, '000 (2001 official estimates); metropolitan areas:

Johannesburg: 3,226 East Rand/Ekurhuleni: 2,480

Durban/Ethekwini: 3,090 Pretoria/Tshwane (capital): 1,986

Cape Town: 2,893 Port Elizabeth/Nelson Mandela Bay: 1,006

Climate

Temperate, warm and sunny

Weather in Johannesburg (altitude 1,769 metres)

Hottest month, January, 14-26°C (average daily minimum and maximum); coldest month, July, 4-16°C; driest month, June, 6 mm average rainfall; wettest month, January, 150 mm

Weather in Cape Town (altitude 17 metres)

Hottest month, February, 16-26°C (average daily minimum and maximum); coldest month, July, 7-17°C; driest month, February, 10 mm average rainfall; wettest month, July, 92 mm

Languages

Official languages: Afrikaans, English, IsiNdebele, Sepedi, Sesotho, Swazi, Xitsonga, Setswana, Tshivenda, IsiXhosa and IsiZulu; other African, Asian and European languages are also spoken

Measures

Metric system

Currency

Rand (R) = 100 cents; average exchange rate in 2009: R8.42:US$1

Fiscal year

April-March

Time

2 hours ahead of GMT

Public holidays

January 1st (New Year's Day), March 21st (Human Rights Day), Good Friday, Easter Monday, April 27th (Freedom Day), May 1st (Workers' Day), June 16th (Youth Day), August 9th (National Women's Day), September 24th (Heritage Day), December 16th (Day of Reconciliation), December 25th (Christmas Day), December 26th (Day of Goodwill); if any of these days falls on a Sunday, the following Monday becomes a public holiday